Sometimes I think I should become a dog person.

I picked up Maggie yesterday after taking my daughter to school and after my Grande Non-fat Pumpkin Spice Latte because it is finally feeling like Fall and I require at least a double shot of espresso before getting Maggie from the kitty cat hotel.

We keep trying to tell her it is like the spa, only the massage includes a temperature reading, but she ain't buyin' it.

Maggie has been having some kidney problems which have been controlled by a special diet. (By special, I mean expensive.) Periodically we have her kidney function checked through a blood test just to be sure she is doing fine. So far, so good.

But lately, Maggie has been having some kidney-related issues on our bathroom rugs. It first began when we moved into the new house, so I thought she had to get used to her new potty box location. She is trained to ask to go out to the garage to the conveniently located potty box. She has done this since she was a kitten and without a kitty door. (They are smarter than you think, folks.)

After a long night in the garage Maggie stopped her kidney-related issues on the bathroom rugs and started asking to go out like a good kitty should.

Until my husband came home from his trip.

You would have thought I had been giving her Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I was washing rugs every day. Oh, and my husband's clothes that he left on the floor. Yes M'am, she did.

The crazy cat lady in me knew this was all behavioral but what if it wasn't? I would have felt really low if all of these kidney-related ISSUES that require multiple trips to the laundry room were all signs of kidney failure. So we asked the vet to check her out.

All kidney function tests- Normal

Maggie- Not normal

The vet asked me a series of questions to rule out any other problems.

Does she have to go down any steps to get to the litter box? No, and the box is right outside the laundry door. This cat runs up the stairs all day looking for our daughter. She is not suffering from arthritis.

Have you changed litter brands? Some cats do not like a new scent. It is the same brand, but could be a different scent. (I don't sniff it in Target before putting it in the cart. I go with odor control.) Besides, she does her other business in there without any problems.

Are there any other cats that could get in the garage? No. We don't even have our cars in there.

In the end, we decided what we knew all along. Maggie is just being bratty.

When I mentioned my husband's return from a trip, the vet just smiled. He said,"Put your husband's shoes next to the litter box and then see where she goes."

Don't worry, honey. I won't do that to you. The vet was just kidding... I think.

8 comments:

This was such a good post - so funny and so well written. I really enjoyed reading it!

I've heard that cats will sometimes do this after a move - they get frazzled for a while - it's common. It's like they are trying to say that they are not happy and that's why they do it where you will see it. I think there is something to this theory as I have had cats do the similar thing when stressed. We have 3 cats right now and all three of them go outside to go potty and they all three tell us when they have to go - we got some smart cats. See ya.

My cat will use the bathroom rug too...if I am lazy and don't clean his box often enough. I have learned to just not leave the rug down...and scoop more often. Since his box is kept in a rarely used bathroom, it is not a problem. He also has a box downstairs and does not seem to have the same issues with it. Cats are just weird. Lovable and beautiful, but weird. (glad he has not discovered clothes or shoes!!)

About Me

Born and raised in Georgia, I love the South. Now I live in the Florida panhandle, fondly known as the Redneck Riveria, with my husband, daughter, and crazy mutt of a dog. I love Jesus,my family, the smell of rain on the hot pavement, rocky road ice cream, and the softness of kitten paws.